Photovoltaic devices provide silent, nonpolluting, reliable sources of electrical energy. Rooftops and other portions of building structures provide ideal support surfaces for photovoltaic devices, and a large body of art has been developed relating to methods and apparatus for mounting photovoltaic structures onto buildings.
Thin film photovoltaic devices are particularly advantageous since they are relatively low in cost, flexible, and capable of being manufactured in relatively large areas, by continuous deposition processes. Such thin film devices can be encapsulated in transparent, durable, flexible polymeric bodies, and are ideally suited for building-mounted installations. In some instances, roofing materials can actually be fabricated from webs of photovoltaic material. Such configurations can function as a roofing material and can also provide large amounts of electrical power.
A first example of a photovoltaic array module incorporating a plurality of photovoltaic cell strips is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,160, issued to Cull et al. Each cell strip incorporates an electrically conductive substrate layer, a semiconductor body deposited on the substrate layer, and a transparent electrically conductive layer deposited on the semiconductor body. Electrically conductive filaments are alternately connected to contact points on the substrate layer of one cell strip and to contact points on the transparent electrically conductive layer of another cell strip. First and second bus bars are connected to the end of the cell strips of the array to collect the electrical energy created thereby. However, each cell strip must be interconnected to the next and various interconnections do not incorporate batten caps.
A further example of the prior art is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,570 issued to Dinwoodie et al., which discloses a photovoltaic building assembly that includes a building support surface on which a PV module support assembly is mounted. The support assembly includes a base secured to the support surface, and an upper portion. A PV module is mounted to and is supported by the body of the upper portion. A foam insulation layer is sprayed onto the support surface to embed the base and lower ends of the legs therein. A weather-resistant layer is applied to the outer surface of the insulation layer to prevent moisture from reaching the building surface. The base can be secured to the building support surface by an adhesive or by mechanical fasteners as well as by simply embedding the base within the insulation layer. The assembly provides for electricity generation, building thermal insulation and building waterproofing in a lightweight construction assembly. However, the mounting system is very complex and requires labor intensive installation.
Consequently, there exists a need in the art for a method and system for mounting photovoltaic material that securely fastens individual photovoltaic strips or panels to a surface, such as a roof deck, while limiting the use of adhesive materials and labor intensive steps. Further, there is a need for a system and method that provides an easy and simple way the securely fasten photovoltaic strips.